For years videophones have been viewed as a futuristic technological endeavor. Even with the advent of high-speed Internet access, the promise of reliable, high quality videophones has not been realized. Conventional video conferencing has a number of disadvantages. Traditional video conferencing requires specialized, costly equipment for each participant in the conference. Significant bandwidth, additionally, must be dedicated to the video conferencing session, thus, requiring at least IDSN or better service. Also, the specialized equipment used is costly and, thus, prohibitive for use by the general public, and generally involves large video conferencing units that must be located in specially designated areas.
Internet video conferencing has alleviated some of the problems attendant with traditional video conferencing, including the use of desktop computers equipped with video cameras and audio microphones instead of large, expensive, and specialized video conferencing equipment. The quality of video and audio in conventional Internet video conferencing, however, has been found to be relatively poor. Additionally, other problems exist in Internet video conferencing, including difficulties in reaching others involved in the conferencing, requiring knowledge of the other party's IP address or the location of a directory service on which the other party is listed.
Therefore, there exists a need for systems and methods that permit the implementation of Internet video conferencing with high video and audio quality, and without requiring knowledge, by conference participants, of the other party's IP addresses, or the location of the directory services on which the other parties are listed.